A STUDENT who allegedly drugged and raped ten unconscious victims has told a court his “favourite” porn is sleeping women.
Zhenhao Zou is accused of “stupefying” the women using vast amounts of alcohol or drugs to render them incapacitated.
The 27-year-old would then carry out sex attacks, which he filmed to keep as “souvenirs”, jurors were told.
Giving evidence today, Zou told Inner London Crown Court he prefers pornography where the women “appear to be still and quiet when they are having sex”.
When asked by his lawyer Mark Cotter KC if he liked women being asleep, he continued: “Yes, that’s my favourite type. But I could not find that.”
University College London student Zou told jurors he instead watched “specialist timestop” pornography.
Zou first came to UK in 2017 to study engineering at Queen’s University in Belfast.
In 2019, Zou began a master’s degree at University College London before beginning a PhD there in 2021.
He told the court that while studying at UCL he came into contact with cocaine, ecstasy tablets and ketamine while partying.
Zou claimed he had suffered from “sleeping problems for a long time” since school.
This led him to buy xanax from a drug dealer at a party, he told jurors.
He also admitted buying two bottles of the drug 1,4-Butanediol, which is made into well-known date-rape drug GHB by the body when swallowed.
When asked what he intended to do with the drug, Zou said he wanted to take it himself when he went clubbing to “get high”.
He denied planning to use the substance to carry out sexual assaults.
Between March 17, 2020, and July 25, 2021, Zou said he was online a lot after moving back to China during the Covid pandemic.
He also admitted having cosmetic operations in China including a hair transplant and operations on his eyelids.
Zou denies 11 charges of rape on ten alleged victims, 12 of possession of an extreme pornographic images and three counts of voyeurism.
He is also charged with one of false imprisonment and eight counts of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
The court heard between 2019 and 2023, he raped two of the women in London, while the other eight were at unknown locations in China.
Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly, KC, said previously: “To the outside world, Zhenhao Zou undoubtedly presents as a smart and charming young man.
“However, as you know from the indictment in this case which contains 35 allegations against him, the prosecution says that he is also a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist.”
Jurors have heard how the case is based on videos found on his mobile phone and two cameras also seized from his home.
Zou claims some of the women were “role playing” and all consented to any footage that was taken of them.
In a prepared statement he gave to police in January 2024, Zou said: “Firstly, I wish to say that reference has been made to pictures retrieved from my mobile phones however I have not seen these and I do not recall when and where I took them.
“I can say, however, that I am in the habit of taking pictures of my sexual activity with my sexual partners. The pictures are only taken with her consent and agreement.
“As to the allegation of rape I deny having sexual intercourse with a partner without her consent and I always believed she consented to it.”
He denies all 35 charges against him and the trial continues.
